Chasing Rarities (Birds)

Do I chase rarities?  Well, I did go to the Sturgeon Bay, WI area (1062 miles round-trip) to see a White Wagtail on January 9^th.  I am guessing you have never heard of a White Wagtail.  Actually, it is a quite common bird – well, if you live in the open country across Europe and Asia.  It is also a scarce and local summer resident of western Alaska.

How does a White Wagtail find its way to the shore of Lake Michigan in America’s Heartland in January?  That will remain a mystery.  It isn’t like the bird can talk and tell us its story.

To be clear, I did not go to Wisconsin for the sole purpose of seeing this bird.  My brother Tom had a meeting in Green Bay and invited me to ride along with him.  I said yes.  Then, I began researching birds being seen in the vicinity.  Thanks to eBird and Birding Wisconsin (a Facebook group), I read about the wagtail.  And I did photograph the wagtail; adding another bird on my life-list.

I wouldn’t consider myself as someone who “chases” rare birds.  My mind conjures an image of someone who will drop everything (work and family obligations) to make a short trip or even grab an immediate flight across the country to see a bird they haven’t seen before.  While I enjoy seeing new birds and even keep a list of birds I have seen, I am not fanatical about checking off new species.

In 2022, I headed to Nome Alaska for the purpose of photographing birds.  Nome is known as a birding hotspot.  Many birders travel to this remote village on Alaska’s western coast to see rarities including birds that cross the Bering Strait from Asia.  While there, I was instructed where I could find some of these rarities, including a White Wagtail.  But when I found a cooperative common species enroute, I got sidetracked.  I found an American Dipper foraging for food in a mountain stream.  I have seen this species multiple times in our western states.  Yet, this individual was being very cooperative, allowing me to photograph it at close range.  As a result, I missed the opportunity to add the White Wagtail and several other species to my life list.

This year, I invited fellow photographer/birder Scott Buchanan to join me on another trip to Sax-Zim Bog in northern MN.  There is an owl irruption this winter with multiple species coming en masse, further south than normal.  At the top of my “wanted-list” was the Boreal Owl.  However, I would not have gone to the bog only for a chance to see this owl species.  I knew there would be a lot of other bird species and mammals to photograph while there.  We struck out on the Boreal Owl.  But I did add some new images of a Great Gray Owl to my photo collection.

In February 2005, I traveled to Manly Iowa (330 miles round-trip) for the specific purpose of seeing a Northern Hawk Owl.  I had seen one a month earlier in Sax-Zim Bog but was unsuccessful in getting any usable photos of it.  Fortunately, this trip to Manly was successful. 

Back to the original question, “Do I chase rarities”?  Occasionally, I will travel locally to see a rare bird.  However, I have been skunked too many times.  There is never a guarantee that the bird will still be in the vicinity or that I can locate it.  But it can be a great way to meet other like-minded people across the U.S. I am a firm believer that people do not care about what they do not know.  I hope that through my posts, I can give you a better sense of our beautiful earth and the critters that inhabit it.  If you know of anybody who enjoys nature, feel free to share.  They can sign up to receive my posts at the bottom of this web page link. https://fencelinephotos.com/